Category: Snacks

One of my favourite things to do is go to Asian grocery stores and slowly make my way down the jam packed aisles. I tend to look for things that look interesting and then hope that it is vegan! I could spend hours discovering new products to try and to be honest I usually end up leaving with many new things to try! My favourite Asian grocery store is ARC Asian Grocers which is in Preston opposite Preston market. ARC has so much variety, from frozen vegan mock meats, to fresh fruit and vegetables to any type of noodle you could think of and so much more. You just need to spend some time strolling through the aisles reading the ingredients!

A few months ago a friend bought some mock jerky for me to try. Having never tried actual beef jerky before I was unsure of what to expect but curious and excited to try it. Unfortunately the mock jerky that she had bought was very disappointing and not at all what I expected jerky to be like! It was bright red, thin and almost translucent. It looked just like those old fruit roll ups I used to eat back in primary school. It even had a similar texture to them. The most disappointing thing though was the flavour. I had assumed it would be salty and “meaty” however it tasted just like tomatoes! All in all, it was definitely not a good introduction to jerky.

Earlier today while I was on a quest to find vegan fish for dinner, I stumbled across Plumpy’s hot mock beef jerky. I was hesitant to try it, recalling my earlier experience however I decided since it was only $3 I’d give it a shot. I’m so glad I did because it is one of the best snack foods I have ever tried! It was slightly spicy (I have a high heat tolerance though), salty, chewy and so moreish. In someways I regret purchasing it because it is so hard not to eat the entire packet! It doesn’t look pretty but it tastes amazing. If you’re looking for mock jerky, I highly recommend this one. It also comes in a teriyaki flavour for those not super keen on the spice.

I had a bunch of sad looking bananas from the weekend just sitting around in the fruit bowl. I’ve made more smoothies and nice cream than I can count. So I decided to experiment a little! These banana muffins are refined sugar, refined flour and oil free. Each muffin is also only 100 calories (this may vary slightly depending on what plant milk you choose to use) which is pretty awesome!

In a large bowl mash the bananas until there are almost no lumps left. Add the vegan milk, aquafaba, flaxmeal and the two extracts. Mix well.

Sift the flour, stevia, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in the bowl with the wet mix. Since you are using wholemeal flour, the husks will remain in the sieve. Just add this back into the mixture. Mix until just combined making sure not to over mix the batter.

Fill each patty pan approximately 3/4 of the full.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

*Notes

You can add nuts/chocolate chips/blueberries/spices, whatever you like! Of course this will add to the calories but if that’s not something you are concerned about, go nuts!

For the past few weeks and especially over the Christmas break I’ve been craving pancakes. My partner is on a low FODMAP diet and I’m vegan so it was a challenge trying to find a recipe that we could both enjoy. We tried one with a premixed GF flour blend and it was an absolute disaster! They were super rubbery and very disappointing. I’ve been wanting to try aquafaba pancakes for months now however with my partners dietary requirements it seemed like it would not be possible. This all changed when I read a post in the aquafaba group on Facebook! A member posted that she had tried whipping up the liquid from a can of regular green peas and that it worked just like that of any other bean!

Here is my pancake recipe from the weekend. It was a bit of an experiment so it’s not GF, next time I’m going to attempt to make it 100% GF.

In a measuring jug whisk together the soy milk and lemon juice to make the buttermilk. Set aside for 5 minutes until it has curdled.

In a mixing bowl mix together the flours and baking powder.

In a separate smaller mixing bowl, whisk the aquafaba until frothy. Add the sugar and whisk until the sugar has incorporated.

Combine the aquafaba with the buttermilk and pour into the dry ingredients. Gently mix it all together with a spoon or spatula. Be careful not to overmix it, some lumps are perfectly fine. Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes.

Heat up a frying pan on medium heat and add a little bit of the vegan butter. Once the vegan butter has melted and is bubbling slightly, ladle in some batter. Smooth out the top of the pancake with the back of the ladle and cook for 2-3 minutes until bubbles form on top. Flip the pancake and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.

I know, I know. I haven’t posted in forever! I’ve been super busy and haven’t been cooking anything exciting. I’ve made a few things, photographed them and then forgotten to blog about it! Due to that, the ingredients are a bit blurry in my mind. Those that know me, know that I don’t ever follow recipes.

This recipe doesn’t have any measurements because I cant remember them but I will be putting the approximates in brackets from what I can recall.